► We model a fish population in a spatial region comprising a marine protected area and a fishing ground separated by an interface. The model assumes…
(more)

▼ We model a fish population in a spatial region comprising a marine protected area and a fishing ground separated by an interface. The model assumes conservation of biomass density and takes the form of a reaction diffusion equation with a logistic reaction term. At the interface, in addition to continuity of biomass density flux, two possible matching conditions are considered: continuity of population density and continuity of biomass density. Neumann conditions are imposed at the physical boundaries.
The eigenvalues of the elliptic problem resulting from the linearization of the model are computed. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the largest eigenvalue to be positive are determined. We show that there exist positive eigenfunctions corresponding to this eigenvalue. If the largest eigenvalue is positive, the population persists, whereas if this eigenvalue is negative, the population goes extinct. A simple sufficient condition for persistence when biomass density is continuous is that the spatially averaged net growth rate is positive. Similarly, if the spatially averaged net body mass growth rate is positive, the population persists when population is continuous.
A brief introduction is given on connections between parabolic partial differential equations and stochastic processes. Questions relating branching stochastic processes and properties of population models that incorporate interfaces are identified.
Advisors/Committee Members: Thomann, Enrique (advisor), Dascaliuc, Radu (committee member).

► The IUCN (1987) defines a translocation as a release of animals with the intention of establishing, re-establishing, or augmenting an existing population. The origins of…
(more)

▼ The IUCN (1987) defines a translocation as a release of animals with the intention of
establishing, re-establishing, or augmenting an existing population. The origins of
translocation practise are very much in applied conservation management. However,
translocations also provide other outputs. They provide a means by which the general public
might connect and commit to conservation and they provide unique opportunities for
scientific research because the age and source of founder populations are completely known.
Geographical isolation plays a crucial role in speciation events. Thus studies of divergence of
behavioural signals in isolated populations have been critical to understanding how barriers to
gene flow develop. Bird song is a vital conspecific recognition signal (CRS) and many
studies have demonstrated significant geographical variation in song with several hypotheses
posed to explain this variation. However, a key problem in testing these hypotheses is an
inability to measure the pace of song divergence. This is because the timing and source of
founder events are rarely detected. Here I use the NI saddleback or tīeke (Philesturnus
rufusater) isolated on a single island in 1964 but subsequently increased by translocation to
13 island populations, to show that significant geographical variation in song can develop in
less than 50 years. Furthermore, my data shows a clear signal of serial population bottlenecks
(up to 3 times) following translocation and supports both bottleneck and cultural mutation
hypotheses in explaining this variation. Critically NI saddleback discriminate between songs
from different islands and this discrimination might lead to an eventual reduction in effective
population size. This illustrates the potential for human induced founder and isolating events,
including conservation management, to be microevolutionary events and challenges us to
consider the implications of conservation biology in an evolutionary context.

Parker, K. A. (2011). The impacts of translocation on the cultural evolution of song in the North Island saddleback or tieke (Philesturnus rufusater). (Thesis). Massey University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10179/2198

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Parker, Kevin Alan. “The impacts of translocation on the cultural evolution of song in the North Island saddleback or tieke (Philesturnus rufusater).” 2011. Thesis, Massey University. Accessed January 21, 2019.
http://hdl.handle.net/10179/2198.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

Parker, Kevin Alan. “The impacts of translocation on the cultural evolution of song in the North Island saddleback or tieke (Philesturnus rufusater).” 2011. Web. 21 Jan 2019.

Vancouver:

Parker KA. The impacts of translocation on the cultural evolution of song in the North Island saddleback or tieke (Philesturnus rufusater). [Internet] [Thesis]. Massey University; 2011. [cited 2019 Jan 21].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10179/2198.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Council of Science Editors:

Parker KA. The impacts of translocation on the cultural evolution of song in the North Island saddleback or tieke (Philesturnus rufusater). [Thesis]. Massey University; 2011. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10179/2198

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

► Developing an accurate forecast model for the amount of power consumed will include such factors as time of day, day of the year, the weather,…
(more)

▼ Developing an accurate forecast model for the amount
of power consumed will include such factors as time of day, day of
the year, the weather, among many others. Based upon these given
factors, current models use a neural network approach to forecast
in the very near future. For the purpose of business operations,
this model should be accurate for predicting power usage at least
six months into the future. Using regression with time series
analysis, the goal is to build a model that re°ects systematic
movements in the data and predict them so errors would be more or
less random and minimized.; Electric power
consumption – Forecasting, Electric power consumption – Southern
States – Statistics, Progress Energy, Time-series
analysis – MathematicalmodelsAdvisors/Committee Members: James Blum (advisor).

This study provides a method for explaining the effects of the current Department of…
(more)

▼

Bibliography: leaves 131-133.

Microfiche.

xi, 133 leaves, bound ill. 28 cm

This study provides a method for explaining the effects of the current Department of Defense (DoD) housing program on military family housing choice behavior. In addition, this study provides a method for evaluating the current DoD housing program in terms of social benefits and costs and in terms of whether it achieves its stated purpose of increasing the amount of housing service consumed by military families. Three models are presented. The first model uses the multinomial logit technique to explain housing choice behavior. The model expresses the probability of choice of home ownership, private rental or military rental as a function of the respective differences in the values for the following housing attributes: monthly cost of housing services, distance to work, and number of bedrooms, and the values for the following socioeconomic characteristics: military income, number of persons in family, and the expected period of dwelling unit occupancy. The second model provides a means to estimate net social and net family benefits of military rental housing compared to private market alternatives. The model uses consumer surplus techniques which extend models developed by previous researchers. The third and final model is completely new and provides a method for determining whether the current DoD housing program induces military families to consume more or less housing service than they otherwise would in the private market. All three models were applied to a representative cross-sectional sample of military families assigned to Travis, Ellsworth, MacDill, and Tinker Air Force bases in calendar year 1978. The results from the logit model clearly show the effects of the DoD housing program on housing choice behavior. The results are also consistent with the results of previous studies of predominately civilian families. Overall, the results from the benefit-cost model indicate that the DoD housing program obtains a net social as well as a net family benefit for military families. Minor exceptions are noted in the text. The housing service consumption model indicates that the DoD housing program induces junior and senior enlisted families to consume more housing service than they otherwise would in the private market. On the other hand, company grade families would consume more housing services in the private market. Field grade families consume more housing service at Travis and Ellsworth and they consume less at MacDill and Tinker compared to the private market. However, the results from the benefit-cost model and the housing service consumption model are preliminary and should not be considered conclusive.

Gertcher, F. L. (2009). An economic evaluation of military family response to the current Department of Defense housing program. (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Hawaii – Manoa. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10125/9600

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Gertcher, Frank L. “An economic evaluation of military family response to the current Department of Defense housing program.” 2009. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Hawaii – Manoa. Accessed January 21, 2019.
http://hdl.handle.net/10125/9600.

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

Gertcher, Frank L. “An economic evaluation of military family response to the current Department of Defense housing program.” 2009. Web. 21 Jan 2019.

Vancouver:

Gertcher FL. An economic evaluation of military family response to the current Department of Defense housing program. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Hawaii – Manoa; 2009. [cited 2019 Jan 21].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/9600.

Council of Science Editors:

Gertcher FL. An economic evaluation of military family response to the current Department of Defense housing program. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Hawaii – Manoa; 2009. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/9600

► Climate change and a growing demand for freshwater resources due to population increases and socio-economic changes will make water a limiting factor (in terms of…
(more)

▼ Climate change and a growing demand for freshwater resources due to population increases and socio-economic changes will make water a limiting factor (in terms of both quantity and quality) in development. The need for reliable quantitative estimates of water availability cannot be over-emphasised. However, there is frequently a paucity of the data required for this quantification as many basins, especially in the developing world, are inadequately equipped with monitoring networks. Existing networks are also shrinking due mainly to shortages in human and financial resources. Over the past few decades mathematicalmodels have been used to bridge the data gap by generating datasets for use in management and policy making. In southern Africa, the Pitman monthly rainfall-runoff model has enjoyed relatively popular use as a water resources estimation tool. However, it is acknowledged that models are abstractions of reality and the data used to drive them is imperfect, making the model outputs uncertain. While there is acknowledgement of the limitations of modelled data in the southern African region among water practitioners, there has been little effort to explicitly quantify and account for this uncertainty in water resources estimation tools and explore how it affects the decision making process. Uncertainty manifests itself in three major areas of the modelling chain; the input data used to force the model, the parameter estimation process and the model structural errors. A previous study concluded that the parameter estimation process for the Pitman model contributed more to the global uncertainty of the model than other sources. While the literature abounds with uncertainty estimation techniques, many of these are dependent on observations and are therefore unlikely to be easily applicable to the southern African region where there is an acute shortage of such data. This study focuses on two aspects of making hydrologic predictions in ungauged basins. Firstly, the study advocates the development of an a priori parameter estimation process for the Pitman model and secondly, uses indices of hydrological functional behaviour to condition and reduce predictive uncertainty in both gauged and ungauged basins. In this approach all the basins are treated as ungauged, while the historical records in the gauged basins are used to develop regional indices of expected hydrological behaviour and assess the applicability of these methods. Incorporating uncertainty into the hydrologic estimation tools used in southern Africa entails rethinking the way the uncertain results can be used in further analysis and how they will be interpreted by stakeholders. An uncertainty framework is proposed. The framework is made up of a number of components related to the estimation of the prior distribution of the parameters, used to generate output ensembles which are then assessed and constrained using regionalised indices of basin behavioural responses. This is premised on such indices being based on the best available knowledge covering…

► Agelaius phoeniceus (red-winged blackbird), Quiscalus quiscula (common grackle), and Sturnus vulgaris (European starling) are three of the most abundant bird species found in North America,…
(more)

▼ Agelaius phoeniceus (red-winged blackbird), Quiscalus quiscula (common
grackle), and Sturnus vulgaris (European starling) are three of the most abundant bird
species found in North America, and along with Euphagus carolinus (rusty blackbird) and
Euphagus cyanocephalus (Brewer?s blackbird), make up a significant proportion of the
avian population. Population trends of these four blackbird species and European starlings (EUST)were analyzed from the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) data collected between 1988 and
2008. Population analyses were conducted using linear mixed-effect regressions from the
Lmer package of Program R. This approach was effective in modeling the population
trends of widespread species with large populations. However, it was not as effective in
modeling species with smaller populations and distributions. Only RWBL had significant change in population during the study period, showing
a positive increase in mean count number of approximately 2.4% each year. Habitat
selection showed some parallels among species.
Advisors/Committee Members: Linz, George M. (advisor).

Strassburg, M. D. (2011). The Evaluation of Christmas Bird Counts as an Indicator of Population Trends and Habitat Selection in Blackbirds and Starlings. (Masters Thesis). North Dakota State University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10365/19385

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Strassburg, Matthew D. “The Evaluation of Christmas Bird Counts as an Indicator of Population Trends and Habitat Selection in Blackbirds and Starlings.” 2011. Masters Thesis, North Dakota State University. Accessed January 21, 2019.
http://hdl.handle.net/10365/19385.

Strassburg MD. The Evaluation of Christmas Bird Counts as an Indicator of Population Trends and Habitat Selection in Blackbirds and Starlings. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. North Dakota State University; 2011. [cited 2019 Jan 21].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10365/19385.

Council of Science Editors:

Strassburg MD. The Evaluation of Christmas Bird Counts as an Indicator of Population Trends and Habitat Selection in Blackbirds and Starlings. [Masters Thesis]. North Dakota State University; 2011. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10365/19385

► Isotria medeoloides (Pursh) Raf. or small whorled pogonia is one of the rarest orchids in the eastern U.S. and is currently threatened by habitat loss…
(more)

▼ Isotria medeoloides (Pursh) Raf. or small whorled
pogonia is one of the rarest orchids in the eastern U.S. and is
currently threatened by habitat loss in the southern Appalachians.
The purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of where
I. medeoloides is found and to develop a habitat suitability model
so that monitoring and conservation efforts can be prioritized in
the southern Appalachian region of the orchid’s range. Habitat
characteristics, including topographic, soil, and vegetation
variables were measured at 15 extant locations during the initial
habitat characterization. The results of the habitat
characterization were used to guide development of the habitat
suitability model. The maximum entropy modeling method (Maxent) was
used to predict potential suitable habitat for Isotria medeoloides
in the southern Appalachian region of NC, SC, TN, GA, and AL.In
general, Isotria medeoloides occurred in mid-successional, mixed
acidic cove forests with a sparse herbaceous layer, high canopy
cover (81-98%), moderately-sloped terrain (5-40%), low soil pH
(4.0-4.9), and soils with a hardpan layer. Additionally, one-way
ANOVA tests between small and large Isotria medeoloides populations
revealed that overstory snag density was significantly higher
(0.029/m2) at large Isotria medeoloides populations. These
habitat characteristics were used to determine the type of digital
environmental data to include in the development of the habitat
suitability model.The Maxent jackknife test determined that annual
average precipitation was the most important environmental
predictor of suitable habitat for Isotria medeoloides, suggesting
that moisture may be one of the most critical factors controlling
survival of the orchid species. The Maxent model had high
predictive performance with a statistically significant Area Under
the Curve (AUC) score of 0.954. It predicted that 0.74% of the
total study area was suitable habitat for Isotria medeoloides.
Field validation to evaluate the predictive performance of the
model revealed differences in habitat characteristics at predicted
high suitability sites compared to predicted low suitability sites,
and these differences were similar to habitat characteristics that
differed between large and small extant Isotria medeoloides sites.
Additionally, a new population of 19 plants was found in an area
predicted as highly suitable by the model indicating that the
Maximum Entropy modeling method is a valuable tool for predicting
suitable habitat for Isotria medeoloides in its southern
Appalachian range thus contributing to conservation of the
species.; biodiversity conservation, habitat model, Isotria
medeoloides, Maxent, southern Appalachians, threatened and
endangered
Advisors/Committee Members: Laura DeWald (advisor).

Ealey, D. M. (1977). Aspects of the ecology and behaviour of a breeding
population of dippers (Cinclus mexicanus: Passeriformes) in
southern Alberta. (Masters Thesis). University of Alberta. Retrieved from https://era.library.ualberta.ca/files/6w924d62c

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Ealey, D M. “Aspects of the ecology and behaviour of a breeding
population of dippers (Cinclus mexicanus: Passeriformes) in
southern Alberta.” 1977. Masters Thesis, University of Alberta. Accessed January 21, 2019.
https://era.library.ualberta.ca/files/6w924d62c.

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

Ealey, D M. “Aspects of the ecology and behaviour of a breeding
population of dippers (Cinclus mexicanus: Passeriformes) in
southern Alberta.” 1977. Web. 21 Jan 2019.

Vancouver:

Ealey DM. Aspects of the ecology and behaviour of a breeding
population of dippers (Cinclus mexicanus: Passeriformes) in
southern Alberta. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. University of Alberta; 1977. [cited 2019 Jan 21].
Available from: https://era.library.ualberta.ca/files/6w924d62c.

Council of Science Editors:

Ealey DM. Aspects of the ecology and behaviour of a breeding
population of dippers (Cinclus mexicanus: Passeriformes) in
southern Alberta. [Masters Thesis]. University of Alberta; 1977. Available from: https://era.library.ualberta.ca/files/6w924d62c

University of California – San Diego

11.
Nielson, Lindsay.
Voting At All Costs : : How Demographics Affect the Costs of Voting.

► Although voter turnout has received considerable attention in the political science literature, scholars do not yet have a complete understanding of how the costs of…
(more)

▼ Although voter turnout has received considerable attention in the political science literature, scholars do not yet have a complete understanding of how the costs of voting – which I define as the various burdens that make voting a difficult and time-consuming activity, such as requiring people to register to vote, show identification, or travel to their polling place – affect the likelihood that a person will turn out to vote. Most previous research posits that changes in voting costs affect all potential voters equally and that turnout decreases uniformly across all demographic groups as voting costs increase. However, I contend that that demographics and voting costs interact with each other to affect voter turnout : according to my theory, voter demographics affect political resources, which, in turn, affect the ability to surmount voting costs. My dissertation uses two data sources to develop models of the demographics and voting costs that affect voter turnout. I interacted these two sets of variables in a series of regression models to gain a greater understanding of how voting costs might differentially affect people based on their individual characteristics. I use national data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study to provide a large-scale test of my theory and data from the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania to model these interactions while controlling for community and campaign factors. Using these results, I identify two primary findings. First, people with traditionally higher levels of political resources (including people with higher education levels, higher incomes, those with white- collar occupations, and those who are male and white) are more likely to not turn out to vote when information costs (including voter registration deadlines and the length of the ballot in the election) are increased. Second, people with traditionally lower levels of political resources (including people with lower education levels, lower incomes, and minorities) are primarily disadvantaged by the transaction costs of voting, such as requiring voter identification. My dissertation highlights the importance of opportunity costs to the act of voting and show that not all people react to voting costs in the same way. This has important implications for scholars' understanding of why people do or do not vote, how representative the electorate is, and how the government addresses the policy priorities of its citizens

Nielson, L. (2014). Voting At All Costs : : How Demographics Affect the Costs of Voting. (Thesis). University of California – San Diego. Retrieved from http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/6r58c89d

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Nielson, Lindsay. “Voting At All Costs : : How Demographics Affect the Costs of Voting.” 2014. Thesis, University of California – San Diego. Accessed January 21, 2019.
http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/6r58c89d.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

► This dissertation is about water and power in the American South between 1890 and 1990. Corporate monopolies, state agents, and citizens clashed over the answer…
(more)

▼ This dissertation is about water and power in the American South between 1890 and 1990. Corporate monopolies, state agents, and citizens clashed over the answer to a basic question: Who was best equipped to manage natural resources equitably and stimulate economic growth? Corporate and state representatives understood the direct relationships between rivers, energy production, and political economy. Between 1890 and 1930, New South corporate capitalists and transnational engineers laid claim to water resources to fuel industrial and urban development. Regional planners created the Tennessee Valley Authority to counterbalance commercial monopolies. After 1945, Congress rejected New Deal liberalism and turned the Army Corps of Engineers into the Sunbelt’s go-to water management agency. Powerful institutions built levees, dams, and reservoirs throughout these periods to solve old “water problems,” generate energy, and consolidate power. In doing so, these organizations took part in an ongoing social, racial, and ecological discourse about the cultural benefits and natural functions of these new hybrid environments.
The environmental challenges were substantial. Scholars have documented the region’s historic water problems associated with flooding, navigation, and erosion. The industrial and agricultural South, however, has been equally influenced by a less well known water problem: water scarcity. Corporate and state responses to multiple, dramatic droughts shaped the southeast’s watersheds and modernization. There are no natural lakes in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge South, yet major and modest reservoirs dot the land from Virginia to Alabama. Investigating the corporate and state institutions responsible for building the region’s extensive reservoir system illuminates how boosters, engineers, and conservationists attempted to resolve water problems, and the social conflict and environmental questions those solutions sparked. Furthermore, this dissertation enriches New South to Sunbelt scholarship by integrating critical factors – water resources, political power, and energy production – into existing narratives.
Southerners have toiled for over a century to make use of and control water. But for all the corporate, state, and citizen investment, the flooding and droughts continue to threaten communities, damage economies, and shape river valleys. The American South has much to share with, and learn from, other regions grappling with what are clearly national water problems.
Advisors/Committee Members: Paul Sutter.

► Spatially explicit models and computer intensive analysis were employed to explore how processes acting at the individual level scale up to population dynamics when processes…
(more)

▼ Spatially explicit models and computer intensive analysis were employed to explore how processes acting at the individual level scale up to population dynamics when processes are variable in space as well as the consequences of sampling spatially complex variability for drawing conclusions from limited ecological data. Dispersal and variation in marsupial mortality and development in relation to habitat selection and quality were studied, while evaluating spatially explicit models. The study of dynamics models of tick populations on sleepy lizards considered the effect of spatial and temporal variability, and demonstrated that counting ticks is a poor indicator of tick abundance. The "virtual ecologist" model is a useful method for linking the output of spatially explicit population models to reality, and will be a valuable approach for improving the design of ecological field research on spatially complex landscapes.
Advisors/Committee Members: Dept. of Environmental Science and Management (school).

► Amphibian species have experienced global declines since the 1970s andplethodontid salamanders are no exception. The green salamander, Aneides aeneus, is aplethodontid salamander that has experienced…
(more)

▼ Amphibian species have experienced global declines
since the 1970s andplethodontid salamanders are no exception. The
green salamander, Aneides aeneus, is aplethodontid salamander that
has experienced declines throughout its range in the BlueRidge
Escarpment.Species distribution models are algorithms that predict
occurrences of a speciesacross a landscape and can be used to
determine conservation priority areas. However,there are commonly
only presence locations without corresponding absence
locationsavailable to a researcher. These presence-only datasets
can present a challenge whentrying to depict reliable distributions
for a species of concern. Maximum Entropy(MaxEnt) is an algorithm
empirically tested to model species distributions
givenpresence-only datatsets.I used landscape-level species
distribution models including MaxEnt and logisticregression to
model the occurrence of green salamanders across the Blue
RidgeEscarpment of North Carolina. These models were used to assess
particular featuresassociated with A. aeneus presence as well used
to search for new localities. MaxEnt models outperformed logistic
regressions for all methods of evaluation.MaxEnt models had fairly
low omission (false negative) and commission (false positive)rates
whereas my logistic regression had extremely high error rates for
both. “Area Underthe Receiver Operator Curve” evaluation scores
were excellent (0.96) and good (0.81) forthe top Maxent model and
logistic regression, respectively.Aneides aeneus is known to be
associated with habitat that includes rockoutcroppings with thin,
deep crevices. My models indicated that forested areas,intermediate
elevations, and shallow soils of particular types are desirable
landscapefeatures for A. aeneus. Soil was the most important
variable in all models, accounting foralmost half of the variation
in MaxEnt models. Elevation accounted for most of theremaining
variation. Percent canopy cover accounted for 4-6.5% of the
variation inMaxent models. While these models did not specifically
predict presence of outcrops,they were extremely helpful in
identifying habitat with conditions supportive for A.aeneus if a
rock outcrop was present. With the help of these models I
discovered onepreviously unknown locality for A. aeneus and am
confident addition locations can befound.; Aneides aeneus, Green
salamander, Maxent, Plethodontidae, SDM, Species distribution
model
Advisors/Committee Members: Joseph Pechmann (advisor).

▼ I studied species' abundances and habitat relationships
of breeding and winter birds in commercially thinned and
unthinned Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands from May
1989 to June 1991. The study was conducted in 40- to 55-year old
stands in the Central Oregon Coast Ranges and the
Tillamook State Forest. Total abundance and species diversity
of breeding birds was greater in thinned stands. During the
breeding season, Hammond's flycatchers (Empidonax hammondii),
hairy woodpeckers (Picoides villosus), red-breasted nuthatches
(Sitta canadensis), and dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) were
more abundant in thinned than unthinned stands. Golden-crowned
kinglets (Regulus satrapa), black-throated gray
warblers (Dendroica nigrescens), and Pacific-slope flycatchers
(Empidonax difficilis) were more abundant in unthinned stands. During the winter, red-breasted nuthatches and winter wrens
(Troglodytes troglodytes) were more abundant in thinned
stands. Differences in abundances of bird species between
thinned and unthinned stands seemed to be related to
differences in stand structure caused by thinning and to
differences in hardwood densities that were probably unrelated
to thinning. Differences in abundances of bird species
between the Central Coast Ranges and the Tillamook State
Forest were related to differences in shrub cover, and
densities of hardwoods, snags, and conifers (>56 cm dbh)
between the 2 regions. I recommended a thinning regime that
would encourage understory and hardwood development in
combination with unthinned leave areas to provide snag
recruitment and habitat for species associated with dense
stands. This regime is intended to maximize bird diversity
and abundance in 40- to 55- year-old Douglas-fir stands in
western Oregon.
Advisors/Committee Members: McComb, William C. (advisor).

▼ Human-induced fragmentation of forests is increasing, yet the consequences of these landscape changes to vertebrate communities are poorly understood. Despite progress in our understanding of how bird communities
respond to forest fragmentation caused by agricultural or urban development, we have little understanding of these dynamics in landscapes undergoing intensive forest management, where mature forest islands are separated by younger forest stands of varying ages. I developed a conceptual framework on vertebrate-habitat relationships in spatially complex landscapes and applied this landscape ecological perspective in the design and implementation of a field study on the relationship between landscape structure and breeding bird abundance patterns in the central Oregon Coast Range. I sampled 10
subbasins (250-300 ha) in each of 3 basins based on the proportion of subbasin in a large sawtimber condition and the spatial distribution pattern of that sawtimber within the subbasin. I systematically sampled each subbasin for birds during the breeding season and developed digital vegetation cover maps for each subbasin. I developed a spatial analysis program for quantifying landscape structure using the Arc/Info Geographic Information System. Using analysis of variance and regression procedures, I quantified the independent effects of habitat area and habitat pattern on several bird species, focussing on species
associated with large sawtimber. Species varied dramatically in the strength and
nature of the relationship between abundance and several gradients in habitat area and pattern at the subbasin scale. Relationships between bird abundance and landscape structure were generally weak; landscape structure typically explained less than one-third to one-half of the variation in each species' abundance among the 30 subbasins. Most species were positively associated with gradients in increasing landscape heterogeneity or fragmentation of their habitats; that is, they were associated with the more fragmented habitats. Only winter wrens showed consistent evidence of association with the least fragmented landscapes. The results are interpreted within the context of the
conceptual framework outlined in the second chapter and within the scope and limitations of the study.
Advisors/Committee Members: McComb, William C. (advisor).

► The relationships between avian community structure and herbicide modification of vegetation were analyzed on early-growth clearcuts in western Oregon that had received phenoxy herbicide treatment…
(more)

▼ The relationships between avian community structure and herbicide
modification of vegetation were analyzed on early-growth clearcuts in
western Oregon that had received phenoxy herbicide treatment 1 or
4 years previously. Only minor effects of herbicide treatment were
evident 1-year after spraying, except for red adler (Alnus rubra),
which still exhibited moderate to severe damage. Most plants showed
no obvious signs of the treatment by 4 years post-spray. For both 1
and 4 years post-spray, vegetation development was greater in the
second (1.0-3.0 m) and third (>3.0 m) height intervals on untreated
(Control) sites; vegetation cover in the lowest (<1.0 m) interval did
not vary between treated and untreated sites. All measures of
vegetative diversity on untreated sites exceeded those on sprayed
sites. Discriminant function analysis identified deciduous tree cover
as of primary importance in separation of vegetation of treated and
untreated sites. Overall density and diversity of birds were similar
between treated and unntreated sites. Several bird species altered
patterns of foraging behavior on treated sites. Differences in
habitat use were identified for several species; birds using deciduous
trees were found to increase use of shrubs on treated sites.
Deciduous tree cover usually functioned in ordination of the avifauna
on both treated and untreated sites. The primary effect of herbicide
application was a reduction in the complexity of vegetation on treated
sites, a condition due primarily to the removal of deciduous trees.
The substantial shrub cover on treated sites, however, apparently
allowed maintenance of an overall avian density similar to that of
untreated sites. Small patches of deciduous trees, scattered about
on clearcuts treated with phenoxy herbicides can maintain an avian
community that is similar to that on untreated sites.
Advisors/Committee Members: Meslow, E. Charles (advisor), deCalesta, D. S. (committee member).

▼ In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), spatial patterns of habitat types and human land uses create an overlap between high-intensity human disturbance and productive habitat types at low elevations. This overlap suggests concern for species such as Neotropical Migrant songbirds, whose populations may depend on the productivity of individuals breeding in low-elevation habitats. We examined patterns of nest survival of three songbird species within the GYE to determine the relative importance of covariates of interest at nest-, patch-, and landscape-level spatial scales to nest survival. We hypothesized that covariates at several spatial scales would be important to nest survival and that broad-scale characteristics of the surrounding landscape would have the strongest spatial-level influence on nest survival. From 1997 to 1999 we located and monitored 233 nests of Dusky Flycatchers (Empidonax oberholserii), 129 nests of Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus), and 290 nests of Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia) in aspen and cottonwood habitats across southwestern Montana and adjoining portions of Idaho. We found that covariates at multiple spatial scales were important to the nest survival of all three species and that landscape-level variables had the strongest spatiallevel effects on the nest survival of Dusky Flycatchers and Yellow Warblers. For all three songbird species, higher substrates appeared to provide the most favorable nesting habitat and date and parasitism status were important variables in the model suites. Variation in the nest survival of Dusky Flycatchers was influenced by all spatial-level covariates, while the variation in nest survival of Yellow Warblers was influenced primarily by surrounding home density. Warbling Vireos appeared to be an edge species in the GYE, and their nest survival was influenced by smaller-scale covariates. Overall, our results emphasize variation in species' responses to surrounding habitat and land use features. We suggest that future studies should evaluate both a variety of species and a variety of habitat and land use features in order to determine how surrounding habitat and anthropogenic factors influence songbird communities.
Advisors/Committee Members: Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jay Rotella. (advisor).

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Council of Science Editors:

Carle RJ. Factors affecting nest survival of three species of migrant songbirds in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. [Thesis]. Montana State University; 2006. Available from: https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/1041

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

▼ Marine renewable energy developments (MREDs) are becoming an increasing feature of the marine environment. Scotland has considerable potential for generating energy from the marine environment in the form of extensive wind, wave and tidal-stream resources. Scotland also hosts numerous internationally important breeding populations of seabirds and Scottish territorial waters represent a key overwintering area for many species. EU legislation requires that MREDs do not damage the integrity of protected seabird populations but potential effects of MREDs on seabirds are not yet fully understood. This thesis aims to address gaps in knowledge regarding how MREDs may affect seabird populations. I generate vulnerability and confidence indices to predict the effects of offshore wind, wave and tidal-stream renewable energy developments on Scottish seabird populations; track the movements of a seabird species identified as lacking in data to better understand overlap with MREDs; and investigate seabird use of a high current flow environment leased as a tidal-stream energy development site. Overall, this thesis indicates that seabird responses to MREDs are likely to be species-specific and will vary dependent on the development location and design of the energy generating technology. My findings indicate that effects of MREDs will differ dependent on individual foraging strategies, age and life stage of individuals, which implies that MREDs are likely to differently affect subsections of seabird populations.

► The environments in which avian species exist fluctuate widely in space and time. In the grasslands of southeastern Arizona, there are annual cycles of rainfall…
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▼ The environments in which avian species exist fluctuate widely in space and time. In the grasslands of southeastern Arizona, there are annual cycles of rainfall which distribute rainfall unevenly throughout the year. Two peaks of rainfall usually occur, one in December and January, and a second in July and August. The temporal pattern and magnitude of rainfall can vary from year to year. There are also significant patterns of rainfall variation across the landscape, both long and short term. The end result of this variation is that the environment in which birds in southestern Arizona breed varies on a number of spatial and temporal scales. Several sites on the Santa Rita Experimental Range and the Research Ranch were censused during the summers of 1982 and 1983 to study the response of the avian community to heterogeneity in their environment. In the Santa Rita Experimental Range, two habitat types were studied: mesquite savannah and grassland. Assuming no temporal dynamics in community structure, mesquite habitats appeared to have higher total densities than grasslands in 1982 and 1983. However, this was true only during April-June. In July and August densities appeared to be higher in the grassland habitats. Patterns of species richness and eveness also appeared to be different when temporal dynamics were considered than when they were ignored. The timing of individual species appears to be responsible for the differences in community structure obtained by the two methods, and this suggests that the assumption of no temporal dynamics in community structure during the season is invalid. The densities of eight species of emberizids were correlated to characteristics of the vegetation on the Research Ranch and Santa Rita sites. One group of species appeared to be associated with open grassland habitats, while a second group appeared to be associated with mesquite habitats. There were a large number of nonlinear relationships of species with certain habitat measurements. While the associations of birds with habitat features were statistically significant, the causal relationships between habitat variables and avian densities were not elucidated by the correlations.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sowls (committeemember), Mannan, William (committeemember), Kuehl, Robert O. (committeemember), Brown, James H. (committeemember), Russell, Stephen M. (committeemember).

26.
Li, Yihan.
GARCH models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach: Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes: Title on signature form: GARCH model for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach.

► Forecasting volatility with precision in financial market is very important. This paper examines the use of various forms of GARCH models for forecasting volatility. Three…
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▼ Forecasting volatility with precision in financial market is very important. This paper examines the use of various forms of GARCH models for forecasting volatility. Three financial data sets from Japan (NIKKEI 225 index), the United States (Standard & Poor 500) and Germany (DAX index) are considered. A number of GARCH models, such as EGARCH, IGARCH, TGARCH, PGARCH and QGARCH models with normal distribution and student’s t distribution are used to fit the data sets and to forecast volatility. The Maximum Likelihood method and the Bayesian
approach are used to estimate the parameters in the family of the GARCH models. The results show that the QGARCH model under student’s t distribution is the precise model for the NIKKEI 225 index in terms of fitting the data and forecasting volatility. The TGARCH under the student’s t distribution fits the S&P 500 index data better while the traditional GARCH model under the same distribution performs better in forecasting volatility. The PGARCH with student’s t distribution is the precise model for the DAX index in terms of fitting the data and forecasting volatility.
Advisors/Committee Members: Begum, Munni, 1970- (advisor).

Li, Y. (2013). GARCH models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach: Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes: Title on signature form: GARCH model for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach. (Masters Thesis). Ball State University. Retrieved from http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/123456789/197166

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Li, Yihan. “GARCH models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach: Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes: Title on signature form: GARCH model for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach.” 2013. Masters Thesis, Ball State University. Accessed January 21, 2019.
http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/123456789/197166.

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

Li, Yihan. “GARCH models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach: Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes: Title on signature form: GARCH model for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach.” 2013. Web. 21 Jan 2019.

Vancouver:

Li Y. GARCH models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach: Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes: Title on signature form: GARCH model for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. Ball State University; 2013. [cited 2019 Jan 21].
Available from: http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/123456789/197166.

Council of Science Editors:

Li Y. GARCH models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach: Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic models for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes: Title on signature form: GARCH model for forecasting volatilities of three major stock indexes : using both frequentist and Bayesian approach. [Masters Thesis]. Ball State University; 2013. Available from: http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/123456789/197166

University of Arizona

27.
Lee, Cho-Seng, 1944-.
OPTIMAL CONTROL THEORY IN THE LONG TERM MANAGEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
.

Lee, Cho-Seng, 1. (1975). OPTIMAL CONTROL THEORY IN THE LONG TERM MANAGEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
. (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Arizona. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289342

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Lee, Cho-Seng, 1944-. “OPTIMAL CONTROL THEORY IN THE LONG TERM MANAGEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
.” 1975. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Arizona. Accessed January 21, 2019.
http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289342.

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

Lee, Cho-Seng, 1944-. “OPTIMAL CONTROL THEORY IN THE LONG TERM MANAGEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
.” 1975. Web. 21 Jan 2019.

Vancouver:

Lee, Cho-Seng 1. OPTIMAL CONTROL THEORY IN THE LONG TERM MANAGEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Arizona; 1975. [cited 2019 Jan 21].
Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289342.

Council of Science Editors:

Lee, Cho-Seng 1. OPTIMAL CONTROL THEORY IN THE LONG TERM MANAGEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Arizona; 1975. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289342

University of California – San Diego

28.
MacKenzie, Scott Alan.
Strategy, choice and the pathways to power : sequence analysis of political careers.

► Past work on political careers assumes that who politicians are and how they got to be there will influence what they do. Unfortunately, several decades…
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▼ Past work on political careers assumes that who politicians are and how they got to be there will influence what they do. Unfortunately, several decades of empirical research have failed to conclusively link differences in previous political experience to the choices that politicians make. In this dissertation, I argue that previous experience matters. Empirically demonstrating this, however, requires both new data and new methods. New data are needed because existing resources do not allow researchers to recover the sequence of offices held by politicians before they reach institutions like the U.S. House of Representatives. New methods are needed because traditional measures of experience fail to capture differences among career sequences. To address deficiencies in data collection, I collected complete career sequences for 5,983 politicians who held the office of U.S. cabinet member, senator, representative, federal judge, state governor or big city mayor between 1809 and 1944. For each individual, all stints in public service were recorded, coded and assembled as sequences of office-holding events. To make sense of complex career sequences, I used an optimal matching algorithm used by molecular biologists to compare protein and DNA sequences. This algorithm was used to calculate a distance measure that summarizes differences in the number, type and order of offices occupied. I then used cluster analysis to group similar sequences together into meaningful career paths. Finally, these groups, or paths, were used as independent and dependent variables in statistical analyses. The application of these new methods to more comprehensive career data yielded several substantive findings. I find, for example, that political professionalization was pervasive in the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Features of professionalization included longer terms of service within the six offices studied here and increasing specialization in the career paths to these offices. Rather than reflect a random walk, I show that the pathways to power are shaped by political institutions. Finally, I find that previous political experience helps explain behavior in office, including the reelection experiences and retirement decisions of big city mayors and members of the U.S. House.

MacKenzie, S. A. (2009). Strategy, choice and the pathways to power : sequence analysis of political careers. (Thesis). University of California – San Diego. Retrieved from http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/81w3p33h

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

MacKenzie, Scott Alan. “Strategy, choice and the pathways to power : sequence analysis of political careers.” 2009. Thesis, University of California – San Diego. Accessed January 21, 2019.
http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/81w3p33h.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

MacKenzie SA. Strategy, choice and the pathways to power : sequence analysis of political careers. [Internet] [Thesis]. University of California – San Diego; 2009. [cited 2019 Jan 21].
Available from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/81w3p33h.

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Council of Science Editors:

MacKenzie SA. Strategy, choice and the pathways to power : sequence analysis of political careers. [Thesis]. University of California – San Diego; 2009. Available from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/81w3p33h

Note: this citation may be lacking information needed for this citation format:Not specified: Masters Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation

Vanderbilt University

29.
Chang, Xinlian.
Module for simulating composition effects on secondary organic aerosol partitioning and its evaluation in the southeastern United States.

► This study systematically investigated the effects of aerosol chemical composition on SOA production in real atmosphere. The findings in this study help reveal the interactions…
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▼ This study systematically investigated the effects of aerosol chemical composition on SOA production in real atmosphere. The findings in this study help reveal the interactions between individual aerosol components and the subsequent effects on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) partitioning.
The aerosol code in the CMAQ model was modified to incorporate structure information and partitioning parameters of lumped SOA product groups, which are formulated directly from the corresponding properties of the individual SOA products. The updated CMAQ was evaluated against field measurements, from two monitoring networks âIMPROVE and SEARCH and one field study - Southern Oxidants Study (SOS99), in the Nashville region during the summer of 1999. It is found that POA composition representation greatly affects the quantification of the composition effects on SOA production. While assuming aerosol phase activity coefficients are 1 for all organics is a good approximation to speed up the simulation for an aerosol mixture solely composed of wood smoke and SOA components, for a mixture of diesel soot and SOA products, making such a simple assumption would result in a great overprediction of the ambient SOA concentrations.
Simulations were also conducted to study the influence of model parameters of great uncertainty such as the vaporization enthalpy of the individual SOA products and the number of lumped groups used to represent SOA production. Simulation results indicate that the vaporization enthalpy for the SOA components need more research efforts due to its significant effects on the predicted SOA concentrations. It is also worthwhile to pay attention to the number of lumped groups applied in air quality simulation. The effects of water absorbing into the aerosol phase were also studied. Allowing water absorbing into the aerosol phase improves the model prediction on SOA concentration in this study. However, the CPU time is increased by several times compared to that required for the base case simulation. This new module is not only applicable to CMAQ, but also can be incorporated into other air quality models.
Advisors/Committee Members: Frank M. Bowman (committee member), James H. Clarke (chair), Karl B. Schnelle, Jr. (committee member), D. Greg Walker (committee member), Alan R. Bowers (committee member).

► This thesis developed mathematicalmodels of commercially exploited fish populations, addressing the question of how to harvest a predator-prey metapopulation. Optimal harvesting strategies are found…
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